May 26, ESPN: "It is not ESPN," Kelly said. "It doesn't have a sports highlight show. It doesn't have a lot of properties people want to tune in to, unless you are a hunter or a fisherman or you like turtle wrestling."

Versus President Jamie Davis, responding to Kelly's comments, said Versus made a significant commitment to the NHL when it agreed to a deal to take it over from ESPN in 2005. Versus "has televised significantly more hours of hockey coverage per night in the first two rounds of the playoffs this year than ESPN did in the same time span during the last several years of their deal."

Total viewership for NHL regular-season games on Versus increased by 20 percent this year, and viewer numbers are up by 35 percent through the first two rounds of the playoffs.